Summer stories that catch the eye (vol. 1)

With the Premier League season over, the summer of speculation begins. Fantasy heads like myself will be eagerly following the rumour mills and checking regularly for news. So what do we, at Who Got The Assist?, think are the big stories that will dominate the headlines for the next couple of months? Here are 5 summer sleeper stories that FPL managers will no doubt be following keenly over the summer

1. Siggy played guitar

One of the most popular players in Fantasy Premier League, Gylfi Sigurdsson looks set to leave Swansea this summer with Everton the most likely destination for the skillful Icelander. I can see the dead ball specialist further thriving next season if a move goes ahead. As long as FPL towers do not raise his price too high, I will definitely be looking at him as a potential third midfielder at the beginning of next season. What of Swansea though and the club he leaves behind? If it wasn’t for Gylfi, we frankly wouldn’t be talking about this club any longer as they would be destined for the doldrums of the Championship. If he stays at Swansea, Llorente is a player that should still remain in our thoughts however as a cheap third striker option due to his clinical finishing skills.

2. Walk‘er over to the Etihad?

Can Spurs hang onto their best players? After another trophy-less season finishes and the transfer window opens, the usual talk of Spurs players being linked to other clubs begins. Rose to Utd? Alli to RM? Possibly not, but one player who looks certain to leave Tottenham is Kyle Walker. With Kieran Trippier starting to step up, Spurs have a ready-made replacement. In fact, they also weirdly have a ready-named replacement too, in the 20-year-old right back Kyle Walker-Peters. The original Kyle Walker appears to be unsettled and a move to Chelsea or City looks to be on the horizon. I can see Spurs chairman Daniel Levy negotiating hard, though, so expect this one to be a long and protracted affair. He is also less likely to sell to Chelsea than City. With Sagna and Zabaleta leaving the club, City need a new right back desperately and I can see them forking out ~£40 million on a new right back that also increases their quota of home-grown Englishmen. Expect Walker to be priced at 6.0-6.5m next year: at City he will be nailed on, but likely to be another asset potentially too expensive for some of us to invest in (especially if ‘Calamity Claudio’ is between the sticks again at the start of the season, though, with City linked to keepers like Benfica goalkeeper Ederson for world record fees, this is now looking unlikely).

3. The artist formerly known as Trollkaku

Romelu Lukaku officially shed his ‘troll’ status this season and played a crucial role in bringing us FPL points, finishing the season as the second highest scoring forward. Due for another price hike, the bigger question is can Everton hang onto him for another season? Heavily linked with Chelsea, with Diego Costa rumoured to be heading off to China, plus having refused to sign a new contract with Everton, this guy has to remain prominent in our thinking for one of those three precious striker berths come Gameweek 1.

Will Lukaku be essential, or will he troll owners in 17/18?

4. We need to talk about Daniel

With a reputation for being made of glass, yet priced very highly, Daniel Sturridge has been an FPL non-entity outside of short bursts of first team action in the last couple of years. However, he is guaranteed to have a price fall this summer, and likely to leave Merseyside . Where will he go to? Maybe West Brom? There have been rumours of links to West Ham, too. Will he play a part in our thinking next year? This is dependent on three factors: if he stays fit, if he’s value for money and if he’s be scoring regularly (as he so memorable did when part of the SSS with Sterling and Suarez). If – and it’s a BIG if – he achieves all three, he may play more of a role in our FPL thinking next year.

Could Daniel Sturridge be a fantasy darling once more?

5. [Insert tired Wayne Rooney pun here]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Yes Wayne Rooney has limped his way into this article albeit at the final point. Like Daniel Sturridge, he is another example of overpriced under delivering English striker that is likely to be downgrading clubs in the summer. The excitement in the press seems to be a link of a £45 million move to Stoke. Can he do it on a rainy Tuesday in Stoke? Stoke have made this mistake before (see Michael Owen’s ill-fated stay) but this time a lot more money is involved. However, this writer isn’t going to start hammering the nails in the figurative FPL coffin yet. Dependent on where he moves this summer, he should be nailed on and will have had a further price drop in terms of transfer value. He will also play a key role in set-pieces for that club so there is definitely the potential for goals and assists which will see fans of FPL cheering his name once again.

To conclude…

We know that stories and transfer news will change throughout the season, so we at Who Got The Assist? will continue to keep you posted on the changes over the summer and how these will affect our thoughts FPL-wise.